Apparatus for treating sewage and other waste liquids.



T. K. IRWIN. APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEWAGE AND OTHER WASTE LI QUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4. I9I4- Patented Mar. 27, 19I7.

THOMAS KJEIVIPLAY IRWIN", or LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TnneLo-conrrnnn'rn FERTILIZERS SYNDICATE LIMITED, OELONDON, ENGLAND.

PAL i TUS JEOR TREATING SEWAGE AND OTHER WASTE LIQUIDS.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented Mar. 27, 1917.

Application filed September 4, 1914. Serial No. 860,221.

To all bhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS KEMPLAY IR- WIN, a subject of His Majesty theKing of England, residing at London Wall Buildings, in the city ofLondon, Kingdom of England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in or Relating to an Apparatus for Treating Sewage andother waste Liquids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for treating sewageand other waste liquids.

In carrying out the present invention I provide means such as a pump forregulating the flow of liquid to be treated; means for the admixture ofprecipitants or neutralizing media; a precipitation tank; a filter bedpreferably provided with a screen; means for aerating the liquid; and asecond filter bed also preferably provided with a screen.

The invention consists in the particular combination of apparatushereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims,no claim per 86 being made to any individual feature.

The invention is hereinafter described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of the improved plant;

Fig.2 is a plan view thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a partial elevation taken at right angles to Fig. 1.

The liquid to be treated is fed, by means of a pump or other suitablemeasuring device, drawing on a sump or other collecting chamber orreservoir, into a tank or vessel a tank a as required in measuredquantities by means of a suitable feed apparatus such for instance asthe endless conveyer e, and the liquid and the precipitant are thenmixed together by means of a revolving mixer device a which may beoperated by the liquid itself before passing. to the tank 0. Somesewages require neutralization and the media to effect this may beintroduced in the same manner as the precipitant; This neutralizationmay be effected either by allowing the sewage to stand and septic actionto set in or by the addition of fermentable matter or a suitablebacteriological culture.

The tank cinto which the mixture is then led is of sufficient dimensionsto permit the precipitation to take place and the efliuent to pass offat the top 0 into a filter f Means, such as the manually operated outletvalve 9, are provided for the continuous or periodical removal from thesaid tank 0 of the precipitated solids and these may as shown pass bymeans of the conduit h into a well or chamber a which may contain sandand from which the remaining liquids can fine sand or other mediumthrough which the efiiuent from the precipitation tank a must passbefore reaching the filtering sand or other material. The effect of thisscreen 7 is to intercept a large proportion of the remaining solids insuspension. Suitable chemicals may be utilized in the layer of fine sandon the screen is to accentuate this action and to effect furtherpurification of the liquid. The filter may be of any suitable form andany of the well known means of distribution may be employed.

The effluent from the filter f is conducted by means of the conduit Zinto a centrifugal machine m for effecting its aeration. The apparatusof this invention may include any suitable aerating or agitating machinewhich will thoroughly oxidize the liquid de livered from the adjacentfilter and which will so break up the liquid as to enable the readyseparation of any remaining solid particles contained in the liquidpassing through the machine. However, it is preferred to use in thisconnection the centrifugal machine shown in United States Letters PatentNo. 1,129,682, granted to me on February 23, 1915. After aeration theliquid flows through a conduit 12 through another screen 0 and filter pconstructed similarly to that previously described and from which tureof the sewage and for this purpose the tank 0 is located over a space 1"permitting heat to be applied to the tank 0. There is also provided adrying floor t with a space 8 thereunder, so that the floor may beheated, and this drying floor is utilized for drying the precipitatedsolids.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by 'Letters Patent ofthe United State is:

1. An apparatus for the treatment of sewage and other waste liquids,comprising a precipitating tank'and means for directing sewage and aprecipitating medium thereinto, said tank having an overflow at the endremote from that receiving the sewage and precipitant and also havingmeans for the removal of precipitates, a filter chamber for receivingthe precipitates and retaining the solid portions thereof, a filterchamber receiving the overflow from the pr eclpitating tank, aeratingmeans for receiving the filtered overflow, and another filter forreceiving the aerated liquid.

2. An apparatus for the treatment of sewage and other waste liquids,comprlslng a precipitating tank and means for dlrectmg sewage and aprecipitating medium thereinto, said tank having an overflow at the endremote from that receiving the sewage and precipitant and also havingmeans for the removal of precipitates, a filter chamber for receivingthe precipitates and retaining the solid portions thereof, a filterchamber receiving the overflow fromthe preclpitatlng tank,.aeratingmeans for receivlng the filtered overflow, and another filter for receving the aerated liquid, the apparatus also including an elevated dryingfloor for the solid matters removed from the sewage and theprecipitating chamber having an underlying chamber communicating withthe space beneathxthe drying floor, whereby heat may be applied to theprecipitating chamber and also caused to act on the drying floor todrive off moisture from the solid matters on said drying floor.

3. Apparatus for the treatment of sewage and other waste liquidscomprising in combination means for mixing the liquid with precipitantsand for feeding the resulting mixture to a precipitation tank in whichthe solid and liquid portions are separated, a filter bed for thereception of the efiiuent from the said precipitation tank, centrifugalaerating apparatus for treating the liquid from the said filter bed,another filter bed for treating the aerated liquid, the solid portionsbeing intercepted at the precipitation tank and the two aforesaidfilters, a drying floor arranged longitudinally of the apparatus andextending past the filters and the precipitation tank to receive theseparated solids therefrom, and means for raising the temperature of thesewage in the precipitation tank, and the solid matter on the dryingfloor to accelerate and increase the process of precipitation, and thedrying out .of the solid matter, substantially as described.

4. An apparatus for the treatment of sewage, comprising a precipitatingtank deaerated liquid.

5. An apparatus for the treatment of sewage, comprising a precipitatingtank decreasing in depth from one end toward the other with means at thedeeper end for introducing the sewage and material for treating thesame, said tank having means at the deeper end for withdrawingprecipitates therefrom, means for draining the precipitates andretaining the solid portions thereof, a filter at the shallow end of thetank for receiving liquid matters overflowing from the tank, aeratingmeans in position to receive liquid from said filter, and another filterin position to receive the aerated liquid, the apparatus being providedwith a drying floor alongside of the tank and filters and said tank anddrying floor having chambers therebeneath for the application andcirculation of a heating medium.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS KEMPLAY IRWIN. Witnesses:

J. S. WITHERS,

